Where's the Girl?
by safarigirl83
Summary: Kagome was kidnapped and hasn't been the same ever since. Now it's up to InuYasha to help Kagome find the girl she truely is. Song fiction to the song Where's the Girl from the Scarlet Pimpernel.R&R appreciated.


Where's the Girl?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Inu-Yasha!"

"Kagome!"

But it was too late. Kagome was gone. Stolen by Naraku.

(I remember days full of restlessness and fury  
I remember nights that were drunk on dreams  
I remember someone who hungered for the glory  
I remember her, but it seems, she's gone)

"We've got to find Kagome," Inu-Yasha yelled to everyone. They nodded in agreement, but Inu-Yasha could tell that their souls were no longer into the search. He couldn't blame them. It had been three months since Kagome was taken by Naraku. Three months since he had let that bastard trick him. Three months since he had seen Kagome... He could still hear her calling to him.

"Inu-Yasha!" He looked up. That wasn't his imagination. He could suddenly smell her.

"Kagome!" he yelled out. And then she was with him, secure in his arms, clinging to him as if she would let again let go.

"Kagome," Shippo chirped as he hopped on to her shoulder. Miroku picked him up, much to Inu-Yasha's gratitude. He cradled Kagome in his arms as he picked her up off the ground. Funny, he didn't remember falling to ground with her...

"Come on, Kagome, I'll take you home."

(Where's the girl...  
Where's the girl with the blaze in her eyes  
Where's the girl with that gaze of surprise  
Now and then I still dream she's beside me)

"No! Stay away! Help me!" Kagome woke suddenly, still screaming, although the screams held no words, just pure terror. Inu-Yasha wanted to run to her and hold her, but he kept to the tree outside her window. His presence just seemed to make her worst. He sighed as he watched her bedroom door open and her mother and brother enter the room. Her mother took her into her arms. Inu-Yasha turned away. He wanted to be the one to comfort Kagome.

This wasn't the Kagome he knew and he was worried. Kagome was a fighter. Okay, not a very good fighter, but she had passion. There was a spark in her eyes that Inu-Yasha had never seen in another living being. Not even Kikyo...

Inu-Yasha's heart wrenched as he watched Kagome give way to the nightmares. He wished he could help her. He wished she would come back with him to his own time and be by his side once more.

(Where's the girl, who could turn on the edge of a knife  
Where's the girl who was burning for life  
I can still feel her breathing beside me)

He watched her walk to school. Her head was hung low and she shuffled her feet. The Kagome he knew never held her head low.

When her friends found her, she started and yelled out, but she didn't try to fight back. It was like her will to fight had been sucked out of her.

"I'll kill you, Naraku. I promise that will every fiber in my body. You will die by my hand for whatever you did to Kagome," Inu-Yasha whispered though clenched teeth as he watched her mumble quietly to her classmates. She never smiled. She never laughed.

He missed her laugh.

(And I know, she remembers how fearless it feels  
To take off with the wind at her heels  
She and I took this world like a storm)

It was lunchtime. Kagome excused herself from her classmates and went outside. She sat by herself under a large tree. Inu-Yasha sat in the one of the branches above her, acutely aware of every move she made.

"Inu-Yasha..." she whispered. His ears perked up at the mention of his name.

"I'm so sorry, Inu-Yasha..." She began to cry, tears streaming silently down her face. He hated it when she cried, especially if it was his fault. He jumped from the tree branch and landed silently on the other side of the tree.

"Kagome, don't cry," he said quietly. Kagome jumped and squealed, but when Inu-Yasha stepped out from behind the tree, she stopped. She didn't even 'sit' him for sneaking up on her.

"Kagome, want to go for a walk?" he asked as a plan formed. He had to get her out of her shell. He had to make her remember what it felt like. He had to remind her what they used to do.

(Come again  
Let the girl in your heart tumble free  
Bring your renegade heart home to me  
In the dark of the morning, I'll warm you  
I'll rouse you.)

Without waiting for a response, he lifted her from the ground and placed her on his back. She didn't even resist.

Suddenly they were off, just the two of them, racing through the grass, the streets, the tree tops, just like they used to. Kagome clung to Inu-Yasha, every muscle in her body tense. But as they traveled farther and faster to nowhere, Kagome relaxed. Then she was laughing. It sounded like music to Inu-Yasha.

He hadn't heard her laugh in so long.

He stopped in front of the Bone Eater's Well, hoping Kagome would want to go back with him, but she shied away from.

"Kagome?"

"I can't."

"I'll protect you."

(Margaret, don't forget, I know who you are  
We were cut from the same surly star  
Like too jewels in the sky sharing fire)

"How? You couldn't protect me from Naraku," she reminded him. Her tone was mild, sad, and that stung Inu-Yasha more than any yelling or screaming she might have done. It was so matter-of-fact, and Inu-Yasha knew it to be true.

He had failed her. He turned away from her, and put a hand on the Bone Eater's Well, but he couldn't jump.

"No, Kagome. I know you. You're stronger than this. After everything we've done together, you're just gonna give up. Kagome doesn't give up!" he said, his voice raising as he spoke.

(Where's the girl, so alive and still aching for more  
We had dreams that were worth dieing for  
We were caught in the eye of the storm)

"You think you know me so well, Inu-Yasha? You don't know me as well as you think you do? Why would you leave me here, if you did?" She stomped her foot and hopped into the well, grabbing a stunned Inu-Yasha as she went past.

They landed on the other side, and Kagome suddenly froze. Inu-Yasha noticed and grabbed her into his arms as he leaped out of the well and landed beside it. Kagome went to jump back home and almost succeeded before Inu-Yasha grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"You're not gonna quit on me now, Kagome."

"I...Inu-Yasha, I can't do this."

"Yes you can. We've done it. Kagome, we were right in the middle of all of it. You would die for what we were doing. Hell, you almost did, a couple of times," he reminded her softly. Her face lit up at the mention of their past adventures. He watched as she was flooded with memories.

(Come again  
Let the girl in your heart tumble free  
Bring your renegade heart home to me  
In the dark of the morning, I'll warm you  
I'll rouse you.)

Her face flashed many emotions: anger, fear, sorrow, understanding, joy, laughter. It all happened right before Inu-Yasha's eyes.

He hoped that she would remember what it felt like to fight by his side. He hoped that she would stay with him. But he had already made his decision if she was to leave.

He would let her go if she wanted to go back...

And he would go with her. He would stay with her until she was ready to come back. He would always protect her

(Where's the girl  
Is she gazing at me with surprise  
Do I still see that blaze in her eyes  
Am I dreaming or is she beside me...now)

She smiled at him, and Inu-Yasha's heart jumped into his throat. Was she back? Could he see the life filling her chocolate eyes once again?

"Inu-Yasha..."

"Yes?"

"SIT!" Inu-Yasha slammed to the ground. He jumped to his feet, his face red with anger.

"What'd you do that for?" he yelled.

"You didn't come sooner," she stated matter-of-factly as she flipped her hair and turned away.

"Hey, you didn't want me there." Inu-Yasha yelled back. Kagome looked over her shoulder at him

"Oh, Inu-Yasha," she laughed. She took a step toward him and wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you."

Inu-Yasha smiled. She was back. She was beside him. Nothing else mattered.

Note: The timeline goes something like this:  
Kagome kidnapped to­ Kagome finding the group again: 3 months  
Kagome goes home ­to Inu-Yasha bring her back: 7-8months

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha is © 1997 by Takahashi/Shogakukan. Inu-Yasha is a trademark of VIZ, LLC and © 2003 by VIZ, LLC All rights reserved.  
The Scarlet Pimpernel is not owned by me, and I'm not sure who holds the rights, but it's not me.  
All elements from copyrighted materials used without permission "Where's the Girl?" the song fiction is © 8/31/2004


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